Chain of Secrets
by CapturedNecko22
Summary: What would you do if you had decided to take a housekeeping job at Recon Manor? At first things are fine, but then strange things begin happening and people start dying. Secrets start being revealed and now that you've been sucked in, it's too late to back out. At the center of it all is a pretty boy named Armin with a lot of scars and the human-like creatures called Titans...
1. Chapter 1

**Hiya guys! Decided to uhm, practice my second pov so, yeah, this is youuuuuuuu!**

**There is more than just one genre here and a lot of ships so, don't mind meh, kay? ewe It's just an idea I wanted to flesh out.**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1: The Residents of Recon Manor

The taxi cab stopped in front of the tall black iron gates connected to a white brick fence. The words: Recon Manor was on a sign next to the gates. It was a bit faded. All you could see behind the gates was a large vast forest that stretched far beyond your eyesight. You thanked the cab driver and paid him the amount of money that was due. Taking your backpack and suitcase, you stepped out of the cab and into the cool October evening air.

Sighing as the cab drove off, you walked towards the gates and pressed the buzzer next to them. A voice that you recognized came through a few seconds later.

"Hello?" Erwin, the owner of the manor, greeted.

"Hi, I'm the house-well, er-manor-keeper that you talked to over the phone." you introduced yourself, sounding quite nervous.

"Right on time! Come in and follow the pathway until you get to the manor. _Don't _stray from the path." he ordered before the gates swung open. You thanked him before heading in. You began following the dirt path and looked back to see the gates closing. It was getting dark out, so you quickened your pace.

Honestly, you thought this opportunity was perfect. You had just recently moved out of your parent's house and you were looking for a place with room and board. This place just so happened to be in the newspaper. You didn't even have to pay; just clean, cook, and do laundry. In exchange you'd get a room and meals. It sounded perfect to you.

After about five minutes of walking, the large manor came into view. You stopped and stared at it in awe. It was very wide and three stories tall. In front of it was an unused and rusty water fountain of a child with wings sitting and looking down. An angel. Behind the fountain were a couple steps that led to the patio that surrounded the building. On either side of the double doors there was a faded white bench. The whole manor was brick with white paint peeling off of it. There were very many windows; each room must've at least had one or two! Surrounding the clearing where the manor was centered were tall dark trees that watched with cold disdain. You could tell the manor was very old, and you haven't even seen the inside of it!

You walked around the old fountain and up the steps leading to the front double doors. You took one of the knockers and rapped it against the door. After a minute the door opened to reveal a woman with brown hair done up in a ponytail wearing glasses. She blinked before smiling.

"Ahh, Erwin told me you'd be coming! My name is Hanji, what's yours?" she asked as she extended her hand out. You took it before speaking.

"I'm _, nice to meet you." you said as you shook Hanji's hand. She opened the doors wider to let you in. Once you walked in you took a look at the foyer. It had a massive Aztec-looking rug in the middle of the tile floor. At the back was a stairwell that led up a story and parted into two different hallways that went in opposite directions. On the first floor there were another two hallways going to your left and right. There were several paintings on the walls and potted plants arranged nicely. Hanji's smiled widened when she saw you staring.

"So you like the place so far? I'm glad!" she took a folded paper out of her pocket and handed it to you. When you opened it, you saw it was a map of the place. Surprisingly, it didn't have the third floor on it.

"That's a map of the place. If you're wondering why it doesn't have the last floor, it's because you're not allowed up there. Sorry, Erwin's rules, not mine." she explained before clasping her hands together. "Well, it's high time for dinner, I suppose. Erwin or Levi will tell you the other rules when we get there." she took your hand and went down the left hall.

"The dining hall is this way, so c'mon!" she said. You smiled. You knew there'd be rules, but you couldn't help but wonder why you weren't allowed on the third floor. It had to get cleaned too, right? You were too polite to say anything though as Hanji lead you down several hallways before reaching another set of double doors.

"The important rooms always have double doors, so remember that." Hanji said as she pulled them open to reveal tables where groups of people were sitting at. They all looked at the doors right when they opened and stared at you, making you feel a bit self-conscious.

"Hey guys! This is _, and she'll be our new housekeeper, so be nice, or she'll destroy your room!" Hanji joked. A few people laughed and you scratched the back of your head. Hanji took your suitcase and pulled your backpack off your shoulders.

"I'll be taking these to your room." she said. You nodded and she left, closing the door behind her. You walked down the rows of tables and looked for a place to sit. A guy with brown hair and vivid green eyes waved you over, and you sat next to him. Across from you was a girl with short back hair.

"Hey, _! I'm Eren, and this is my sister, Mikasa." he said, jerking his thumb towards the girl. You smiled and shook both of their hands. They seemed really nice. Eren pointed out other people sitting at different tables.

"That guy over there is Thomas, he's talking to Mina. Next to them is Marco and Jean. Marco is the one with the freckles. At that table is Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie. Bert's the guy with dark hair. At that other table is Connie and Sasha. Connie's the bald one. Christa and Ymir are over at that table..." he kept pointing out people and you nodded each time. After introductions, you all talked about various things.

Looking up, you noticed that there were two sets of double doors at each end of the room, and the one that you didn't come out of was cracked open a bit. Someone was peeking through. You blinked. Looking over at Eren, you saw he was talking with Mikasa but was looking over there, too. When the person's and Eren's eyes met, he slowly shook his head, and the person shrank back, closing the doors.

Someone tapped your shoulder. You looked up and saw a short man with practically no emotion on his face. "Stay here when dinner is done, I need to speak with you." and with that, he turned and left.

"That was Levi. He has a stick permanently shoved up his ass, I swear." Eren scoffed and you giggled. The guy that Eren told you was Jean looked over.

"Hey Jaeger! Flirting with the newcomer already?" he asked, and Marco shook his head. Eren sent a glare his way before responding.

"Shut up, horse face! You know I'm already in a relationship!"

"Yeah, it's a pretty fucked up one, too!"

"Shut the fuck up before I rip off your dick and shove it down your throat!" Eren bristled. Mikasa put her hand on his and gave him a look. Eren sighed and looked away. She threw Jean a look, too, so he backed off.

"Who are you in a relationship with?" you asked, tilting your head. Eren glanced at you before looking away.

"Look, it's nothing. Just forget about it." he said before stabbing a piece of chicken and shoving it in his mouth. You chewed your lip. He was welcoming at first, but now he seemed distant. Mikasa stayed silent.

Sighing, you took a sip of orange juice. "Sorry if I provoked you or anything. I won't ask again." Eren looked over at you.

"No, I'm sorry. Dickhead over there just aggravated me." he gave you a smile. "Let's talk about something else."

After an hour the dining hall started clearing out. Eren smiled at you and stood up; Mikasa followed suit.

"Well, sorry for ditching you, but Levi needs to talk to you, so..." you nodded in understanding and they left, setting their trays on the table next to one of the exits before leaving. Soon the whole room was empty of people except Levi and you. He walked over and sat across from you.

"_, we need to set some ground rules before you retire to your room." he began. You nodded and looked at the table.

"First of all, don't go up to the third floor. If Hanji already mentioned that, good. Second, don't go into the basement either, but it's not on the manor layout anyway so you won't stumble across it. Third, lock your room and _don't_ come out, no matter what you hear. Third, don't meddle into things that have nothing to do with you. That's all. Any questions, brat?" he asked. You frowned slightly. These rules were a bit odd.

"I'm not a brat." you finally said. Levi glowered at you before standing up.

"Your to-do list should be on your nightstand. Heed the rules, brat." he said before leaving. You were tempted to yell that you weren't a brat, but you doubted that would be appropriate. You sighed and decided to take your leave as well, grabbing your tray and setting it with the others on the table off to the side before leaving.

You took out your map and followed it back to the foyer where you climbed up to the second story and took a right. There were lots of windows on either side of you as you walked. Paintings, too.

You were too busy following the map that you bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" you apologized, backing up quickly. You looked up to see a girl with short platinum blonde hair and glasses. She pushed them up before speaking.

"You don't know what you're getting into. I suggest you leave sooner rather than later." she said, looking at you with disdain and what seemed to be disappointment. You looked at her, confused.

"Wha... Who are you?" you asked, not recognizing her from the dining hall. She sighed.

"I'm Rico. I already know who you are. You should really leave this place. It's too dangerous. There are too many secrets that you'll stir up, and that's bad for everyone's health. I don't know what Erwin was thinking when he hired an outsider." you stared at her.

"Um, I'm really tired, so I think I should go to bed..." you sidestepped and passed her. She gripped your wrist and you turned to look at her.

"Just think about what I said." she said before letting go and walking down the hall. You stared at her for several more moments before you turned and continued walking towards your room. Dangerous? What was she talking about? Sure this place might be a bit mysterious, but the people were nice enough. At least, Eren and Mikasa were. And who was that person peering in through those doors at you?

You yawned as you got to your room and opened the door. Closing it behind you, you looked around. The room was about medium sized. There was a window at the back wall with closed red curtains. The floor had tan, plush-looking carpet, and there was a red queen sized canopy bed to your left. On either side of the bed was a wooden nightstand. One had a lamp, the other had a piece of paper that you assumed was your to-do list on it. Your backpack and suitcase were on the bed. On the right side were two evenly spaced doors. One you assumed was a closet, the other a bathroom. You grabbed your backpack and suitcase and set them on the floor, vowing to unpack later. You turned back to the door and locked it, remembering Levi's warning. You went to the window and moved the curtain a bit and looked out.

The moon was slowly rising to take over the night sky, and the forest looked chilling. You dropped the curtain and went to your bed. You laid down on the bed, not bothering to change. You needed to sleep so you could digest all this weird stuff going on.

As you closed your eyes, you heard creaking and cracking noises coming from the walls, but you were too tired to care.

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Small green vines managed to poke their way through the cracks of the window and walls, a flower or two blooming here or there. The growing paused when you shifted on the bed, then receded back to the wilderness where they came from.

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**Well, whaddya think? Should I continue? I thought it was pretty good.**

**I've been toying around with this idea for a while and have big ideas for it, but it all comes down to you guys. :3**

**Review and tell me what ya think, please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Omg, thank you so much, Lady Monoceros! My heart goes out to you! :3**

**And yeah, some typos last chapter. My apologies, I uploaded this at 5 a.m., so... XD**

**Apparently Levi can't count XD Oh well, I'll fix 'em later... maybe when I'm not so lazy...**

**Enjoy! **

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Chapter 2: First Death

The morning sunlight shining on your face woke you up. Groaning, you sat up and stretched your tired limbs. Why was it so bright? You could've sworn the curtains were closed...

Looking over to the window, you saw the window was open and the curtains had been moved out of the way. You saw a black cat sitting on the windowsill and staring at you, its tail twitching. You didn't know why, but somehow the cat seemed very familiar to you, although you've never seen this cat before in your life. You stood up and went over to it.

"Well hey there, pretty kitty. Were you the one that opened my window and pulled back the curtains?" you asked as you scratched the cat on the head. It purred slightly before standing up. With one last glance at you, it leapt out the window.

"No, you're two stories up!" you cried as you peered out the window. You didn't see the cat anywhere. No blood, either. You sighed and closed the window, making a mental note to ask that short guy if you should lock the window, too.

You unpacked your clothes and picked out an outfit for the day. Nothing fancy; just jeans and a blue shirt. You opened the door to your closet and widened your eyes when you saw it was huge. You tossed the clothes on the floor because you were lazy and would put them away properly later. Besides, you had a full day of cleaning and cooking ahead of you.

After you put on your clothes, you opened the door to the bathroom and wasn't at all surprised to find it as big as your room. After brushing your hair and teeth, you went over to your to-do list and looked it over.

To-Do List

-Go to kitchen at 8 a.m. to cook breakfast

-Clean all rooms that don't have Do Not Disturb signs

-Take all laundry from laundry bins in those rooms and put them in the washer.

-Go to kitchen at 11 a.m. to cook lunch

-Clean hallways

-Put laundry in dryer

-Trim hedges in the back

-Pull weeds in the back

-Water plants and do other gardening

-Go to kitchen at 5 p.m. to cook dinner

-Wash dishes

-Ask any of the residents if they need help with anything

-Take out laundry and return it to their owners

Well, seemed easy enough.

You unpacked your watch and looked at the time. 7:55 a.m. Turns out that cat had woken you early enough to get to the kitchen in time. Sighing, you pocketed the to-do list and headed out of your room. You took out your map and followed it to the side door next to the giant dining hall doors. You opened it and inside was a long rectangular room with two long metal tables in the middle and long rows of counters against either of the walls. Pots, pans, and all sorts of cooking supplies either hung on the walls or were on racks on the counters. Hanji walked over to you, handing you a hairnet.

"Hey, _, nice of you to join us!" Hanji said, smiling brightly. You smiled back.

"You help out around here?" you asked. Hanji nodded.

"Yup. I also work at the infirmary. I'm the only certified doctor here, you see." she explained. You nodded. Then you noticed others behind Hanji who were already starting to prepare breakfast.

"Who else is helping out?" you asked.

"Christa, Mina, Thomas, Petra, and Ar-" Hanji cut off when she turned to look at the others. There were only four people, and Eren had told you about them, but not about who Hanji almost mentioned.

"And who?" you asked. Hanji looked away.

"No one. Anyway, don't let Sasha or Connie in here, otherwise they'll eat all the food. We don't want that happening again." Hanji said. You bit your lip. The people here were definitely hiding something-no-_someone-_and not telling you. But why? And who was it?

As Hanji told you about the rules of the kitchen and whatnot, you couldn't help but wonder if this person they were trying to hide was the one who peeked through the door at you yesterday night. Obviously he or she was interested in you. You wondered if their room was on the third floor, and maybe that's why you weren't allowed up there.

You just couldn't see _why_ these people would hide someone from you.

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The day had been pretty busy so far. Surprisingly, you only had little time to think about how mysterious everyone was being. You knew tackling a manor was a big one, but you didn't know it would consume most of your thought process. Gripping the gardening supplies tightly, you made your way down the hall and towards the gardens in the back of the manor. You couldn't believe how huge this place was.

You blinked when you saw Levi up ahead, inspecting a window you had wiped earlier. You walked up to him.

"Hello Levi!" you greeted. He glanced at you, his face still as expressionless as ever.

"This window isn't clean enough." he commented. You rolled your eyes.

"If you say so. Anyway, I have a question I need to ask you. Actually, two." you said. He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?" he said. You nodded.

"Yeah, first off, should I lock my window, too?"

"Yes."

"Okay, and second, what are those creaking noises in my walls last night? Were they rats?" Levi chuckled. Your eyes widened; you didn't think Levi could laugh.

"Oh I assure you, _, those creaking noises are much worse than _rats._" he said, and the look he sent you chilled you to the bone. You stared at him as he passed you, trying to comprehend what he meant.

Christa walked by Levi and stopped in front of you, giving you a bright smile.

"Hi, _! How are you today?" she asked, and you couldn't help but smile. Christa was so kind and polite.

"Oh, I'm fine! What about you?" you said.

"I'm doing great, thanks for asking! Sorry to bother you, but I forgot to put some laundry in my bin, so I was wondering if you could get it, if it's too much to ask."

"No, not at all! Of course I'll get it! I mean, it's my job after all."

"Sorry for being an idiot..."

"Oh Christa, you're just fine!" you gave her a reassuring smile and ruffled her hair, and she giggled. You noticed at the end of the hall Ymir was staring at you two, and her glare could set you on fire.

"Well, thank you!" Christa said.

"You're welcome! I'll get it back to you before lights out, I promise." and with that, Christa turned and left, Ymir disappearing from the corner. You sighed and turned back on your way. Once you made it to the back door, you went outside and down the back porch steps. The gardens looked absolutely breathtaking. There were several benches scattered about. Trees, bushes, and flowers decorated the area nicely, and at the center of it all was a fountain smaller than the one out front of several dolphins. Unlike the other one though, this fountain actually was running.

You began trimming the hedges, making sure they looked even, or else Levi might notice and you'll get in trouble. He already thought a spotless window (in your opinion) wasn't clean enough. Hopefully you wouldn't get fired; you were too intrigued by the mystery of this place to leave just yet. You still had to find out who this mysterious person was.

You noticed in the corner of your eye something shiny just past the beginning of the forest. You set down your hedge clippers and made your way towards it, wondering what it could be. Once you got there, you saw it was a pair of broken glasses. Your eyes widened when you saw a pool of red surrounding them.

Then you saw a drop of red drip down onto the glasses.

You slowly looked up and screamed. She was completely torn apart and hanging. She had been impaled by numerous tree branches and blood was splattered everywhere. Her stomach was split open enough to see her organs and several were pierced by branches around her. What seemed to be her liver was on the ground, and her intestines hung like scarves on the branches closest to her that weren't through her.

You knew Rico must've suffered something awful. Her death didn't look painless at all.

You didn't know how long you had been screaming, just long enough for someone to come out and see what the hell was going on. You didn't remember who it was that called your name and raced over. One second you were staring at Rico's bloody corpse, then you were seeing blackness.

After you woke up, they held a funeral for her. For Rico. You didn't even know her that well, yet you still joined. They buried her in the back of the gardens. They showered her grave with flowers. All you could think about was the last words she spoke to you; a warning.

At one point you had looked up at the manor. You didn't know why, but you felt compelled to look up at it's old, crumbling self. And on the third floor in the center was a white balcony that jutted out of the building. Vines and other plants were draped across it like a tangled blanket, and only several parts of the balcony were clear of plants.

You could've sworn you saw the white curtains in front of those French double doors move.

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**First death guys! Poor Rico...**

**And ooooh, what's going on here?**

**:3**

**Remember to review! It helps me out a lot!**


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